1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for bunching and tying products. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for bunching and tying vegetable products, such as broccoli.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Inventors have had a tangled relation with product tying machines for sometime. Early tying machines used a swinging arm to wrap a piece of twine or bailing wire around a product. See, for example, Radeck, U.S. Pat. No. 2,346,786, issued Apr. 18, 1944. Such machines involved many moving parts and complex gears, levers, and cams to operate. An additional problem with such machines is that they were delicate and often jammed in the abusive environment in which they were used. Particularly, certain products, such as broccoli or asparagus, produce a considerable amount of fine debris that clogs the operating mechanism of such machines. Build-up of debris is particularly acute during sustained production periods.
Due to the sensitivity and complexity of early tying machines, most product and vegetable packers have used machines for bunching purposes only--loading and tying were done manually. Typical of such devices is U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,391 issued to Anguiano on June 20, 1978. Devices of this type are still the most commonly used for product bunching.
One problem with manual tying is that it makes product packaging a labor intensive activity. The rising costs of labor, coupled with the relatively slow speed at which manual laborers are able to accomplish their tasks, make such common bunching machines relatively inefficient.
Although the problems of product bunching and tying have long been appreciated, those working in the art have failed to produce a reliable, rugged, and efficient alternative to the complicated mechanical tiers and labor intensive bunching devices. The rising costs of agricultural production are not being evenly paced by the market price received for the products. As profit margins become smaller and smaller, efficiencies must be improved if those in the business of bringing a product to market are to remain in business.